HE’S NAILED IT
Moyes has to be in running for manager of season
AND then it was five. To think, there was a time not so long ago when those lost souls of West Ham could barely be trusted to walk with any great competence, and now they are running at ever increasing speeds.
A fifth straight win, a seventh game unbeaten in all competitions, and a place in the FA Cup round of 16 to go with their current stationing on the seventh rung of the Premier League — if David Moyes isn’t the manager of the season so far, he should certainly be in the conversation.
Not that routine wins over Doncaster are the barometer of these things, and indeed only Everton would constitute any kind of scalp in that winning run, but there is a serious momentum accumulating behind this West Ham side.
It might all end in a brick wall, given they face the winner of Liverpool and Manchester United in the next round, but half a year on from a relegation battle it is an exciting horizon.
This latest win was easy, and while that can be expected against League One opposition on a flat pitch, it is necessary to appreciate Doncaster arrived in London on a run of seven wins in eight games.
They had their own good form and swagger, and yet they were behind within two minutes and were hit for four across the 90, via Pablo Fornals, Andriy Yarmolenko, an Andy Butler own goal and a debut strike for Oladapo Afolayan.
By the close, West Ham had five academy products on the pitch, had controlled nearly 70 per cent of the possession and kept a clean sheet.
A solid day at work for Moyes, who left the media duties to his assistant Alan Irvine. With West Ham’s league position so safe, Irvine made it clear a cup run was an objective.
‘It is fantastic to be through and to get four goals and a clean sheet,’ he said. ‘We’ve used the squad today but not a whole load of kids, not a weakened t eam — t hey were e xperi e nced Premier League players.
‘We know what’s coming and the i mportance of s preading t he demands around the whole squad. But we are in a healthy situation.
Why can’t we have a go at going far in the competition?’
The rotation for this fixture amounted to seven changes to the side that beat West Brom and an entirely new back four.
Within all that, Yarmolenko was repurposed at the tip of the attack in place of Michail Antonio, who was rested in na a bench role after scor- ri ng t he winner in n each of West Ham’s previous two games. West Ham might be t hin i n attack, a going concern for this promising season, but for perspective on dispari- ties it was notable that at Doncaster’s manager ager Darren Moore was two wo men short of a full bench. On the pitch the gap was no less conspicuous.
It took a fraction longer than a minute for West Ham to go ahead, with Fornals striding on to a low
Ryan Fredericks cross to finish well from 10 yards, and two more chances quickly followed for Manuel Lanzini and Yarmolenko. Both nice moves and near misses. The second goal, on 32 minutes, was equally attractive. Said Benrahma, in the midst of his best display since joining from Brentford, Bren was a key component, com given he won w possession with an a interception from Butler and then threaded the pass that sent through Yarmolenko. Y With a chip c off his left boot Ya Yr molenko beat Rovers Ro keeper Ellery Balcombe. Bal Credit Cred to Yarmolenko — he was wa having a strong game and if West Ham are to sustain their Premier League pace his ability to serve as an adequate understudy to Antonio will be key, especially as Irvine said they will not be signing a new striker ‘for the sake of it’. Benrahma’s push for a first West Ham goal saw him go close with a free-kick early in the second half, and Tomas Soucek also had a pair of shots well saved by Balcombe, before Butler’s own goal made it 3-0.
The origin was a Mark Noble corner that was flicked on by Issa Diop to the back post, where the ball deflected in off Butler’s thigh.
After an hour Matt Smith hit the West Ham bar — Doncaster’s only decent chance of the game — but then substitute Afolayan tapped in on his debut.
‘It was a lesson for us,’ said Moore. ‘West Ham are making wonderful strides. In and out of possession they were a real force.’